Free Republic

Russia is claiming two significant victories in its ongoing sanctions war with the West, after Canada agreed to waive restrictions on a key gas pipeline component and the European Union clarified its position on the standoff over the Kaliningrad exclave."The truth is that some European politicians might be more interested in Russian gas rather than in Ukraine's victory," Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of Ukraine's parliament and the chair of the body's foreign affairs committee, told Newsweek.Merezhko—a member of Zelensky's Servant of the People party—shared a similar view from Kyiv. "To us it's a dangerous political precedent," he explained. "I'm also...

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization officially offered membership to Sweden and Finland Wednesday. "We reaffirm our commitment to NATO's Open Door Policy. Today, we have decided to invite Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO and agreed to sign the Accession Protocols," the organization said in a press release Wednesday. "In any accession to the alliance, it is of vital importance that the legitimate security concerns of all allies are properly addressed. "We welcome the conclusion of the trilateral memorandum between Turkey, Finland, and Sweden to that effect. The accession of Finland and Sweden will make them safer, NATO...

First, I don’t view Russian President Vladimir Putin as a hero or victim, but as a pawn. Western intelligence agencies puppeteered Putin into invading Ukraine. So, how did KGB Putin get outplayed by the West? Sure, Putin once lived and breathed spy vs. spy, but he has been a politician in charge of a world power for the last 20 years. Politics attracts ass kissers, inflates one’s self worth, and gets people believing the caricature the world sees them as. For Putin, it’s the strongman.